plunging into the depths of the primeval forest.—over rock, bush, and brier.—a toilsome march.—the barrens.—where are we?—general bewilderment of the wanderers.—the doctor has lost his way.—emerging suddenly at the edge of a giant cliff with the boom of the surf beneath.
at length the doctor rose, and the boys all followed him to the carriages. getting in, they drove a short distance; and here the doctor informed them that he was going to leave the horses and carriages. “we’ll take to the woods now,” said he, “and you must prepare for a good, long, steady tramp. well want a few things, though, to take with us. two spades will be enough, one hammer, and an empty basket. you may divide these among yourselves. each of you had better take some sandwiches out of that basket, and anything else you may think necessary to keep you up on your expedition.”
the boys went off, at this, to lay in a stock of provisions. as they expected to be on the move all day, each one took enough to last him. the spades, &c., they divided among themselves, with the understanding that, when those who first carried them grew tired, they should be relieved by the others. the horses and wagons were left in charge of the people of the house, with whom the doctor had some acquaintance.
after these preliminaries the doctor warned the boys that he intended to plunge boldly into the woods. some friends of his had formerly gone over the woods to the right, which extended towards cape blomidon, but had found nothing. he had made up his mind that if the fort were anywhere, it would be found among the woods on the left, and here was the country which he intended to explore.
they then started, the doctor taking the lead, and soon turned into the woods. they entered a rough pathway, which had been formed by ox teams in winter while hauling out lumber and cord wood. it was now about nine o’clock.
after a time the pathway divided into several others, one of which the doctor chose, and went on, but soon found that it wound away in a direction that did not suit him. he walked on a little farther, and then, coming to place where the woods were less dense, he turned aside, and, with all his followers at his back, plunged into the primeval forest.
at first the walking was not difficult, the trees standing far apart, and the soil beneath being covered with moss and long ferns; but after a time the woods grew denser, and it was only with considerable effort that they were able to move along. every step seemed to make it worse. long, slender trees shot up, not large enough to prevent their progress, but sufficient to form an impediment; and working their way among these proved very difficult, and very fatiguing. what was worse, the ground began to grow rougher at every step. soon they emerged from the thick underbrush, and came to where the trees were larger, and farther apart from one another. but here the ground was spongy; and in every direction lay fallen trunks of trees, some prostrated but lately, others lying where they had lain for years, in every stage of decay. these they had to clamber over, or crawl under; and so it was that, in order to make any progress, they were compelled to use their hands as well as their feet. the soil beneath was hidden under a covering of moss; but it was swampy and spongy, and the soft earth was interlaced with long, fibrous roots, in which their feet caught at every other step. this moss overspread everything. it grew over the fallen trees; it enfolded in its green mantle the huge granite bowlders that from time to time upreared themselves beneath the trees.
at length they came to a slight rise in the ground, where the soil was dryer. here the doctor paused, and the boys all flung themselves down on the ground, breathing heavily. they had walked for two hours now, without stopping, and began to feel exhausted. the doctor also showed signs of exhaustion. he said nothing, however, but scanned very narrowly the scene around him.
he found but little before his eyes that was in any way different from what he had been looking at for the last two hours. he could see a few paces before him, but no farther. there the trees arose, and the prospect terminated in the dim aisles of the forest, with their shadowy vistas. all around—before, behind, and on either side—it was the same. there was the dense forest, just such a forest as they had traversed—it spread all around them. the only place where a view could be had for any distance was overhead.
but even here it was no better. for the boys, as they flung themselves down, saw that during their journey a change had taken place overhead. the blue sky was no longer to be seen. in its place there came close down a dull, gray, indistinct haze, which descended even to where they lay, hiding the tree tops from view.
it was the fog.
such a common circumstance elicited no surprise, of course. it was no more than might have been expected. the wind had changed, and the fog of the bay of fundy had rushed over blomidon, and they, in those dim woods, were now enveloped in its folds. nor was it so much a matter of regret to them as it might have been under other circumstances. here in the woods it made but little difference in their situation. even if the sun were shining brightly overhead, the ground beneath would be just as swampy, the fallen trees as troublesome, the underbrush as thick.
whatever were the doctors own private feelings, he kept them to himself, and surveyed the scene in silence. at length he made up his mind as to his course, and once more started for his onward journey.
the journey was the same as before. sometimes a great growth of underbrush would impede their progress, and that underbrush would vary from the tall, slender stems of the young maples to the dense and prickly spines of the young spruces. at other times the trees would stand apart, the scene would expand, and they would be encircled by a dense array of forest columns, between which the view was lost in shadow and gloom. sometimes they plunged into swamps, unawares; at other times they tore their way through ferns and trailing plants; again they were compelled to climb over fallen trees, or crawl under them. once they came to a place which was quite bare of trees, but overgrown with fire weed and blueberries. such places as these were known to them by the name of “barrens,” and on this occasion they made use of it to take a long rest. the doctor again looked all around him thoughtfully, and appeared buried in profound reflection.
it was here that a thought flashed to the minds of all the boys.
it was this.
the doctor hadn’t the least idea where he was!
the moment that thought arose, every act of the doctor’s confirmed it. his silence was a very remarkable thing. usually he was genial and lively; and such was his flow of spirits, that he could always throw an air of joyousness around an occasion like this. usually he was full of pleasant and encouraging words. he had, by nature, a rare aptitude for winning the affection and confidence of boys by throwing himself into their feelings. with all his attainments, he had in him much of that fresh, brave, frank, joyous, hilarious temper which we call “boyish;” and his own free and frank nature, his generous enthusiasm, his disdain for all that was base, his exultation in all that was noble and pure, all combined to win the reverential affection of “his boys,” as he called them.
but now he had been silent for hours. during all that weary march he had spoken no word of encouragement. his pleasant, cheery voice, which might have lightened half their toil, had not been heard. his face was anxious, his gaze abstracted. what in the world could be the cause of this? this was the question that came to all; and all felt that one thing, and one thing only, could in any way account for this.
the doctor had lost his way!
such was the general conclusion.
but what was to be done? none of them could direct him aright. all were alike in the dark as to their possible position. the sky was not visible. there were no landmarks by which to be guided. even the sight of the sun would have been a guide; but the sun was now shut out from their view by a dense veil of ever-increasing fog.
the doctor remained for a long time lost in his own thoughts, and this time of rest was precious to the overworn boys. they talked in low tones with one another as to where they might be. none could throw any light on this question. every one had a different opinion. none could even suggest any reliable way of finding out what they wished to know. but at any rate the time of rest was precious to them all; and when at length the doctor called to them to start once more, they followed him with new vigor in their limbs.
the doctor now crossed the “barrens,” and changed his direction somewhat to the right. they entered the woods again, and once more encountered the old struggle against swamps, and ferns, and underbrush, and tangled roots, and fallen trees. the journey this time seemed harder than before. the boys began to feel their exhaustion more keenly. they exchanged words of despondency, and declared to one another that they could not hold out much longer. their progress was much slower than it had formerly been, for the doctor himself began to feel the effects of such unusual and such excessive exertion. he led them forward, therefore, quite slowly, and stopped to rest at times.
what made it worse for the boys was the fact that all this time they had to carry the shovels and other things. there were four of these, viz., two spades, one hammer, and one basket. these the boys carried by turns; but the trouble of carrying them under such circumstances was intolerable. sometimes they proposed to one another to drop them; but this proposal was not carried out. they still bore them on, and exchanged their burdens more rapidly as they grew more weary.
at last the woods grew thinner, the ground dryer, and the trees smaller. the walking was much easier. the necessity of such very violent exertion was taken off.
this ground formed a gentle declivity, where the woods in front, though much thinner than those behind, still shut out the view. gradually these woods grew less and less dense, until at last immediately in front they could look through and see beyond the signs of some opening.
and now the ground began to descend more steeply. where they were going none could tell. some thought that they were approaching a clearing, for every step made the opening in front more and more plain. through the trees there was nothing visible, indeed, but the gray, foggy atmosphere; yet this itself showed them that they were about to emerge from the woods; where, or in what part of the country, they could not imagine. some of them thought that they were approaching a settlement, and rejoiced in the prospect of getting upon a road, or finding a house where they might rest. others thought that they were descending the slope of the mountain towards cornwallis, and were hoping every moment to emerge forth from the woods into some green meadow or pleasant pasture. whatever hope they might have had, its effect on all of them was the same. they forgot their fatigue; new strength came to their wearied limbs. the doctor advanced faster, and the boys, in their eagerness, even hurried ahead of him. bruce and bart were first among the hurrying throng.
and now the ground descended still more steeply, and in front the gray mist spread out more widely; but one or two trees yet intervened. forward rushed bart and bruce. after them hurried all the others.
but what was this?
suddenly they all stopped, and sprang back a pace or two.
for they had reached almost the outside edge of the forest, but only to find that the gray mist before them was floating free in the sky, and that the skirt of the forest was the edge of a tremendous precipice, which went sheer down below them, to a place where the wild sea waves, hidden from them by the mist, sent up a long, low, distant, booming sound, as they broke in thunder on the shore.
